Ankle-supporting shoe.



R. HEALY.

ANKLE SUPPORTING SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.12, 1910.

Patented June 10, 1913.

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UNTTED TATFQ PATENT @FFTCE.

RAYMOND HEALY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

ANKLE-SUPPORTI'N Gr SHOE.

LOS TA'FQ.

Application filed. October 12, 1910.

b all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RAYMOND HEALY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of Nnv York, have invent-ed certain new and useful Improvements in Ankle- Supporting Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in ankle-supporting shoes such as designed particularly for children but also applicable to shoes of other sizes.

The main object of the invention is to cheapen the cost of manufacture of shoes of the above class and at the same time to improve the appearance of such shoes whereby they will present practically the same neat appearance as shoes of the ordinary construction.

Further objects are to dispense with flaps and loose ends or sides on the interior of the shoe, thus avoiding uncomfortable pressing of the flaps into the ankle and the liability to curl up of the loose ends which form ridges and press uncomfortably into the foot.

A still further object is to secure the stiffening stays or steels to the upper of the shoe so that their position will be fixed with relation to the shoe and thereby prevent them coming into too close proximity to the ankle bone.

Heretofore it has been the general custom to make the ankle-supporting device or brace as a separate unit by attaching a relatively stiff piece or pieces of material to a flexible backing and securing the stiflening stays or steels in pockets formed between the stiif and flexible material as disclosed in the United States patent to G. Krieger, No. 757,816, dated April 19, 1904.. This device is then attached to the finished or semi-finished shoe by securing it under flaps on the inner side of the upper and also securing it to a heel sole which is fastened to the sole of the shoe. This makes an expensive construction as it entails an additional operation necessary in the manufacture of a complete ankle-supporting shoe. Also the interior of the shoe has a more or less patched appearance owing to the flaps under which the flexible material of the corset is secured, which flaps also make uncomfortable raised portions to press into the ankle. Also in this construction it is not possible to fasten down the lower forward edges or sides of Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedJune 10, 1913.

Serial No. 586,618.

the flexible material of the corset, there being nothing to which to attach it without sewing or piercing the shoe. Under wear this loose edge curls up and forms a very objectionable ridge. A further objection is that the corset might be applied to the shoe in such position that the stiffening stays would hear on the ankle in too close proximity to the ankle bone.

According to my invention the ankle-sup porting devices are made up as part of the shoe and applied during the manufacture so that they become a fixed part of the finished shoe, thereby insuring proper disposition of the stiffening stays. By forming a pocket or pockets between the lining and outer leather of the upper in which the corset is inserted any loose edges are avoided and the necessity for separately attaching the corset is dispensed with as by my invention the lining of the shoe dispenses with the necessity of the flexible material of the corset heretofore employed.

By practising my invention in its preferred form, the lining and the leather of the upper are sewn together along the edges and the vamp is then sewn to the upper which closes the pocket formed beetween the lining and the outer leather on all sides but the bottom. The corset is then inserted in the pocket and the upper lasted to the sole, which latter operation entirely closes the pocket and avoids any loose edges. It also insures that the corset is a fixed part of the shoe and by attaching the stiffening stays to the lining their fixed relation to the upper of the shoe is assured. Obviously the mode of actual manufacture as to the manner of applying the stiffening stays and inserting the corset might be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the improved ankle-supporting shoe constructed and arranged as hereinafter more particularly described and then specified in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation and partial section of a shoe constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the upper before attachment to the sole, the vamp being shown secured at one side. Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 3, 3 Fig. 4:. Fig. A is a development plan of the upper of the shoe.

Practically there are two pockets formed,

one on each side of the upper of the shoe and between the outer leather and the shoe linmg.

1 indicates the outer leather of the upper and 2 indicates the lining seWn to the leather 1 along the edges 3, 4. The outer leather 1 and the lining 2 at the back of the upper where it bends back upon itself as at 5 might or might not be fastened by sewing or other- Wise as desired as the bending of the material at this point effectually closes this side of the pockets formed on either side of the upper. Preferably the lining 2 is of leather to give a smooth neat appearance to the inside of the shoe but other material, such as fabric might be employed if desired.

6 indicates strips of flexible material disposed vertically in the upper and fastened along each edge to the lining 2 as for instance by stitching. These strips 6 and the lining form pockets for the stiffening stays 7 hereinafter referred to.

8 indicates a lining material such as cloth secured to the lining 2 and which goes up into the toe of the shoe and forms a lining for this part of the shoe, but if desired the lining 2 might be continued so that the part 8 Would be acontinuous piece therewith, this part however having nobearing on my present invention.

9 indicates the vamp attached in the usual manner to the upper along the dotted line 10. After attachment of the vamp 9 it Will be noted that the pocket or pockets formed by the lining and outer leather of the upper are only open along their loWer edge or side 11.

12 indicates a corset preferably made of a piece of relatively stiff material and conforming in shape to approximately the contour of the pockets formed in the upper. The corset 12 is inserted in the pocket through the open side 11 and the upper is then lasted to the sole 1?) along the edge 11 as in the usual manner of applying the upper to the sole in shoe manufacture. This operation entirely closes the pockets and the corsets 12 are securely held in place owing to their close fit in the pockets, although preferably they are not actually fastened to the upper.

The stiffening stays 7 are preferably strips of steel or bone and are inserted in the pockets formed by the strips 6 and lining 2. By making these pockets a permanent part of the upper and definitely located When the shoe is in the course of its manufacture any shifting of the stays 7 or placing them in such position that they would hear, more or less, on the ankle bone is avoided.

While I have described my invention With some particularity With respect to the mode of manufacture, it Will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular process of manufacture described, but other Ways of carrying my invention into effect might be employed Without departing from the spirit thereof, as set forth in the following claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In an ankle supporting shoe, an outer leather and a lining arranged to form a pocket, a corset loosely inserted in said pocket and not attached to said lining or said outer leather, and stiffening stays cooperating With said corset.

2. In an ankle supporting shoe, an outer leather and a lining arranged to form a pocket closed along all edges, a corset loosely inserted in said pocket, and stiffening stays cooperating With said corset.

3. In an ankle supporting shoe, an outer leather and a lining arranged to form a pocket, a corset loose in said pocket, and stiffening stays secured to said lining.

4. In an ankle supporting shoe, an outer leather and a lining arranged to form a pocket, a corset consisting of relatively stiff material conforming approximately to the shape of said pocket and loosely inserted therein, and stiffening stays secured to said lining.

5. In an ankle supporting shoe, an outer leather and a lining arranged to form a pocket, a corset of relatively stiff material loosely inserted in the said pocket and cooperating stiffening stays secured to the lin- 1n Iigned at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 10th day of October A. D. 1910. 4

RAYMOND HEALY.

V'Vitnesses C. F. TiSOHNER, J12, IRENE LEPKOWITZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by aaressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

